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  • Honey v. Lycoming County Offices of Voter Serv.

    Publication Date: 2024-03-22
    Practice Area: Election and Political Law
    Industry: State and Local Government
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Ceisler
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 57 C.D. 2023

    Cast vote records were the electronic equivalent of the "contents" of a ballot box or voting machine and thus were exempt from public disclosure under the Election Code and constitutional protections for ballot secrecy. Order of the trial court reversed.

  • Water Polo I, L.P. v. W. Hanover Twp. Sewer Auth.

    Publication Date: 2023-09-04
    Practice Area: Public Utilities
    Industry: Hospitality and Lodging | Real Estate | State and Local Government
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Ceisler
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 360 C.D. 2022

    Court found trial court erred in concluding authority overcharged appellant for tapping fees but authority's monthly sewer charges imposed on appellant were reasonable and uniform under the Municipality Authorities Act and appellant failed to establish its constitutional rights were violated. Reversed in part and affirmed in part.

  • Weiler v. Stroud Twp. Zoning Hearing Bd.

    Publication Date: 2023-08-21
    Practice Area: Land Use and Planning
    Industry: Real Estate | State and Local Government
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Wojcik
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 1303 C.D. 2021

    Board did not err in determining appellant's services officiating at weddings and using her property for the ceremony and accompanying festivities were "personal services" not permitted in the zoning district, board's description of appellant's use as a "wedding venue" was appropriate and ordinance and its enforcement did not place a substantial burden on her individual exercise of religion. Affirmed.

  • S. F. v. Dep't of Human Serv.

    Publication Date: 2023-07-24
    Practice Area: Administrative Law
    Industry: Education | State and Local Government
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge McCullough
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 574 M.D. 2020

    Court found that, as applied to petitioner and other teachers, §6368 of the Child Protective Services Law did not provide adequate due process protection, the post-deprivation hearing was substantially ineffectual and constitutionally deficient and a pre-deprivation administrative hearing before the Bureau of Hearing and Appeals had to be provided to petitioner. Motion granted in part.

  • Tewell v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review

    Publication Date: 2022-07-25
    Practice Area: Employment Litigation
    Industry: Manufacturing
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Wojcik
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 22-0838

    Board properly found claimant voluntarily left work without necessitous and compelling cause where claimant failed to prove his work environment was unsafe due to employer's failure to provide personal protective equipment or that claimant's health condition constituted necessitous and compelling cause to resign. Affirmed.

  • Winton v. Dep't of Corr.

    Publication Date: 2021-10-25
    Practice Area: Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Cannon
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 21-1246

    Department filed preliminary objections to inmate's petition asking court to order a new investigation, issue a declaratory judgment that DOC mishandled his sexual assault allegations and issue an injunction requiring DOC to comply with the Prison Rape Elimination Act and court found inmate did not raise a viable constitutional challenge and PREA created no private cause of action. Objections sustained and petition dismissed.

  • Apartment Ass'n of Metro. Pittsburgh, Inc. v. City of Pittsburgh

    Publication Date: 2020-03-23
    Practice Area: Civil Rights
    Industry: Real Estate | State and Local Government
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Ceisler
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-0323

    On remand, court applied the reasoning in Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Ass'n v. City of Pittsburgh, 211 A.3d 810, and concluded city failed to satisfy the exception to the business exclusion of the home rule law and struck down ordinance that added a new protected class of persons based on the source of income used to pay rent. Trial court affirmed.

  • Muma v. Dep't of Health

    Publication Date: 2020-01-06
    Practice Area: Administrative Law
    Industry: State and Local Government
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Jubelirer
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1517

    Hearing officer erred in denying petitioner's application for a nunc pro tunc hearing and granting department's motion to quash because department denied petitioner his opportunity to be heard in the first instance and abused its discretion in applying nunc pro tunc appeal standards to deny petitioner's untimely request for an initial hearing. Vacated.

  • Pileggi v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review

    Publication Date: 2019-07-01
    Practice Area: Employment Litigation
    Industry: Construction | Real Estate
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Cannon
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0764

    Unemployment compensation review board erred in finding that claimant was self-employed because claimant's prudent investment in his brother's business did not represent disqualifying self-employment under §402(h) where the evidence showed claimant did nothing for the company and received income akin to dividends. Reversed.

  • Van Leer v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Bd.

    Publication Date: 2019-03-18
    Practice Area: Employment Litigation
    Industry: Health Care
    Court: Commonwealth Court
    Judge: Judge Covey
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0288

    Worker's compensation appeal board correctly found that claimant's duties as a caretaker for a woman suffering from mild dementia fell within the domestic service exception where claimant testified her job was to make sure that employer did not fall, get hurt or leave the house and she provided no medical care other than making sure employer took her medicine. Affirmed.